The French Toast Throw Down
Foodie Friday
Or as we called it .. Duel of the Spatulas! Kaye insisted her French toast souffle recipe, with caramelized pecans, was the best. But Sandy was sure that chocolate chips that melted into her oven baked French toast had the “omg factor!”
Note: In the photo .. Sandy on left & Kaye on right.
This summer my cousin Kaye and her husband David hosted a family party for about fifty of our cousins and close friends. Their home, in Hull, MA, a block from the beach, was a perfect location to reconnect with people who I hold dear in my life.
Of course there was lots of wonderful food and drink including jello shots (are jello shots food or drink?). My niece Jessica spent weeks making 8 dozen different kinds of jello shots .. strawberry margarita, fuzzy navel, coconut lime and more! My fav .. chocolate covered cherry jello shots that Jess topped with whipped cream and an extra cherry yum! Some families toast with wine .. ours with jello shots. What can I say? It’s a fun way to get everyone talking and laughing. We like to have fun.
The morning after the party we started a new breakfast tradition .. a French Toast Throw Down. In the spirit of Food Network star Bobby Flay, Kaye and Sandy treated us to their special French toasts.
Who won? After tasting one and then the other and tasting one and then the other again just to make sure .. everyone agreed .. it was indeed a tie! Note: lunch was not needed.
Kaye agreed to share her recipe and perhaps Sandy’s will follow soon.
Linda Roberts French Toast Souffle
This is a two day process. You can do it all at once but Kaye recommends taking the extra time.
Ingredients A
1 loaf French bread cut into medium thick slices
Ingredients B
6 large eggs
1 1/2 C milk
1 1/2 C half and half
1 t vanilla
1/8 t nutmeg
1/8 t cinnamon
Directions
Mix all of ingredients B together
Ingredients C
You can make this on day two.
1/2 soft (room temperature) butter – note: do not melt butter or you won’t be able to spread it properly
1 C light brown sugar
2T dark corn syrup
1 C pecan nuts
Directions
Grease 13×9 inch baking pan
Place the sliced bread in the pan
Pour ingredients B over the bread
Cover and refrigerate over night. You want the custard to soak into the bread so make sure all of the bread is covered. Turn the slices if necessary.
Next morning. Preheat oven to 350′
Spread ingredients C over the top of your bread
Bake about 35-40 minutes
Stand up and take a bow to the applause from your fans!
My “girlfriend cousins” and I creating memories on the front porch!
Sounds heavenly! I would probably use the left-over challah I always seem to have in my freezer. The best french toast I ever had was made with 2 slices of egg bread, filled with good raspberry jam, soaked in an orange-flavored egg mixture (I think it had grand marnier in it!) then rolled in corn flake crumbs and fried in butter. Almost as decadent as yours… Maybe you can enter it next year.
Rebecca – that sounds heavenly .. love the flavor combination and including Grand Marnier. Kaye’s recipe was as rich as a New Orlean’s bread pudding.